WA govt pledges to double gas subsidy

The West Australian government has seized on the rising cost of petrol with a pledge to double its subsidy for vehicle conversions to gas.

WA govt pledges to double gas subsidy

06 August 2006

The West Australian government has seized on the rising cost of petrol with a pledge to double its subsidy for vehicle conversions to gas.

With the cost of unleaded petrol at 130 cents a litre in Perth, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan says a one thousand dollar rebate could help to half fuel costs for many motorists.

"It's not going to be for everyone but our focus is on those West Australians who are really copping it hard," Minister MacTiernan said on Sunday.

The government estimates the upfront cost of conversion, estimated to be around $2,500 per vehicle, could be quickly recovered, as many people were spending $100 a week on fuel.

"Many motorists ... could be making savings of around $50 a week," the Minister said.

The policy has been lauded by the Gas Vehicle Owners Association, whose spokesman John Bell on Sunday said the plan was "wonderful for West Australian motorists.

"You don't do something like this without vision," Mr Bell said. "They (the motorists) can pay off a gas conversion in less than a year."

The subsidy increase is also good news for small business owner Mahmood Hussein, who said on Sunday there was a six week waiting period for conversions at his workshop in inner city Perth.

But he said the popularity of conversions had to be offset against the improvements in technology.

"The challenge for us will be to get new technicians trained ... to be able to do that," said Mr Hussein.

"Because of the mining boom there's a lot of people going into the mining industry and so what we're finding here is that we're having to train new people," he said.

"You have to be not just a motor mechanic but an electrician really," he said.

One taxi driver in Perth is not convinced about the overall benefits, saying the price of gas had risen from 19 to 50 cents a litre over the past 10 years.

Ms MacTiernan agreed that the cost of LPG was likely to continue to rise, but said it had always been half the cost of petrol.

She said more efforts should be made to allow West Australians to access the gas market, which had huge reserves left to exploit for both export and domestic consumption.

WA Premier Alan Carpenter has called on the federal government to set aside a proportion of the state's gas reserves for local consumers, but Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane has said the proposal was "sheer folly".